What do you fear …

[unloadonme]

Go slow and just pet it a little. Dont worry it wont bite.

Yeah, but it might spit in my eye.

 

[Rickrock]

As I have gotten older I have acquired a fear of heights.

 

[NotHardUp1]

^
A few years ago, I attended a memorial service for a woman--an artist--who was a friend and mentor when I was in college. She always had projects she was working on, not just those that were art-related, but also gatherings and celebrations of one sort or another, large and small. She was a great do-er. At the service a colleague and friend of hers recalled that, visiting her in her last days, the spoke of her faith in God and added, "I don't know what he could be thinking: there is so much more I need to do."

I think about her words often.

Maybe the religion is a good angle. Lots of humans of all walks and faiths, and anti-faiths, believe there is no afterlife, regardless of any rewards system like heaven, hell, nirvana, or whathaveyou. Among the very, very few sermons I remember or was edified by, I recall one about the eternity of our spirits and what heaven should be like. The point was that it would not be passive, nor spent all day in worshipping. What we were learning and growing in here, we would build on there.

That seems good enough for me. Contrary to all the imputed obsession with afterlife by anti-religionists assuming the focus of religionists, I think that ship sailed in the West about 130 years ago, with a few hangers on thereafter.

Like you, I've been to many memorial services and paid attention. I think that put into perspective all the elements that made a life well-led. For me, being creative and productive is just a part of daily life. When you find something broken, fix it, especially in systems, processes, etc., that benefit the larger group. When opportunities to be creative arise, seize them and leave a mark to inspire others. For me, that lifestyle is enough, not the measure of what we did on a scale. So little ultimately survives.